코노피툼 칼쿨루스-[정명] Conophytum calculus (Berger) N.E.Br.

과명	앵글러-Aizoaceae (번행초과)	속명	Conophytum (코노피툼속)
전체학명	[정명] Conophytum calculus (Berger) N.E.Br.	추천명	코노피툼 칼쿨루스

학명변경: 명명자변경 (A. Berger) N.E.Br. -> (Berger) N.E.Br. 추천명변경: 칼쿨루스코노피툼 -> 코노피툼 칼쿨루스

Conophytum calculus is a small South African species of succulent plant in the family Aizoaceae.

Rounded ball-shaped succulent plant, that divides to form dense clumps. The resemblance to pebbles and the firmness of its flesh is what got it its name ("calculus" is Latin for "pebble"). It produces yellow or orange flowers in autumn, that open at night, and have the aroma of cloves.

The ball shape is formed from the plant's leaf-pair having fused entirely, leaving only a tiny slit at the top, where the flower and the succeeding leaf pair pushes through. The new leaf-pair forms inside the ball. When it is ready, the ball of the old leaf-pair shrivels and dries out, before it is split open by the new leaf-pair ball. The epidermis (and therefore the dried leaf sheath too) is thick and strong.

The plants are extremely long-lived, and individuals have been kept in cultivation for over 50 years. They offset slowly, forming clumps.

Subspecies

• C. calculus subsp. calculus. The type subspecies has round uniformly grey-green heads, smooth sheaths, and offsets to form mounds.
• C. calculus subsp. vanzylii (Lavis) S.A.Hammer. This form has smaller, paler, less scented flowers, marked sheaths, a more variable colour, and a more depressed, flattish, globose shape.

Distribution

Conophytums are all indigenous to the winter rainfall regions of southern Africa. Conophytum calculus subsp. calculus is restricted to the "Knersvlakte" region, in the far north-west of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Here it is confined to the area between Bitterfontein and Holsrivier. The subspecies vanzylii occurs over 100 km to the north, in the western part of Bushmanland.

The "Knersvlakte" is a region of white, quartz pebble-fields. Therefore in spite of the semi-arid climate and desiccating sun, the soil is typically quite cool (due to the reflective white of the quartz pebble-fields). The clove-scented flowers are pollinated by moths at night.

Conophytum calculus - Wikipedia

https://youtu.be/D66dZCrBZls

https://youtu.be/6KN4WZgeNUU?t=2972